It is essential to properly maintain tools and equipment for manufacturing projects.
Conveyor belts are often crucial components of such projects. It can transport thousands, perhaps even millions, worth of product boxes, food, and raw materials. A broken belt could stop an entire operation. This kind of failure can result in worker death and can be costly to a business.
Therefore, it is crucial to follow the correct steps when maintaining your conveyor system. Although the conveyor belts functions are simple, the mechanism it works with can be very complex. It’s important to understand bearings, Motor Control Speed, and Variable Frequency Drives.
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Here are five tips for maintaining your conveyor belt.
- Routine Maintenance Review
As with any manufacturing equipment, routine maintenance checks are essential. This includes checking belt tension, potential contamination, excess wear, and other maintenance items.
The bearings are important to examine, as is the pulley. To ensure smooth linear motion, bearings attach on the ends to the belt roller. The bearings should be kept lubricated to avoid excessive friction. You can also damage the belt from heat caused by friction.
The pulley controls the tension of both the belt’s ends. The belt could suffer from uneven wear, premature stretching, or if the pulley is out-of-line.
It is important to check your system regularly to identify any potential problems and resolve them before they escalate. Even though it can be frustrating, taking the time will save you from major breakdowns and delays later on. It can also improve the durability of your conveyor chain.
As much as possible, speak to the manufacturer about the belt. Ask them which parts are most at risk of breaking down first.
- Pay attention to common problems
Common conveyor problems include belt slipping, mistracking, and blocking. These problems can have minimal consequences. If ignored, however, these issues can cause serious production disruptions.
The conveyor’s alignment is achieved by belt tracking. Even a slight error in tracking can cause the entire operation’s derailment. It could lead to uneven wear on your belt. To ensure a smooth production, you should always look out for mistracking. You can find several reasons why mistracked snub rollers may occur. This could be due to crooked conveyor frames as well as misaligned or incorrectly cut snub rolls.
Slipping happens when tension is lost. Belt slippage can sometimes be accompanied a lot by uneven wear, stretching, and loud squealing. Poor installation, cold conditions, and faulty pulleys are the most common causes.
Finally, blockages are when one product gets stuck on a conveyor line. This can lead to a complicated build-up of products behind it. Avoid this from happening. Make sure to inspect your line for any sharp corners, turns, or surfaces that might catch the products passing by.
- Scheduled preventative maintenance
Prevention is better than cure, goes the old saying. Plan maintenance time as often as possible. This goes beyond a regular maintenance check. You will often have to shut the entire operation down to complete it.
The belt manufacturer should have a maintenance schedule. This will show you which components you need to inspect. This includes wires and cables which need to be replaced or repaired.
Preventative maintenance will increase the lifespan of your conveyor system. Even though the costs of repairs and upgrades may be high, the benefits will outweigh the cost.
If you’re interested, you can also incorporate asset management or maintenance tracking systems into your project.
